Jacob’s Doernbecher Freestyle Collection

Thanks to an incredible partnership between OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and Nike, Jacob is one of six patients that were given the opportunity to design a one-of-a-kind pair of shoes & apparel. Jacob worked with a team of world-class designers from Nike to create his custom gear. He took this opportunity to advocate for heart health, and also to share his CHD story with the hope that it will inspire others who are affected by CHDs to find strength and persevere through the rough times.

Jacob designed a classic; the Air Max 95 Premium. His shoe design has a lot of ‘double meanings’ that he hopes will strike a chord with the CHD community. The shoe features a custom made circuit board pattern with his name worked secretly into the circuitry. The toe of the shoe is blue and transitions to red by the time you get to the heel. For Jacob, this represents his blood flowing strong through his once obstructed circuits….The colorway doubles as a nod to his favorite superhero and inspiration, Spiderman.

On the back upper you will find Jacob’s two thumb prints overlapped into the shape of a heart and the sock liner has a heart rate monitor that says ‘I walk to my own beat.’ Jacob plays the drums and he loves that the drum beats, and so does his heart. The tongue has a “JB” logo, representing his initials. But, if you look closely you will see that the ‘B’ isn’t quite connected all the way, just as his aorta was. It actually forms a 13 which is the age Jacob was when he was given the opportunity to create this shoe.

Jacob’s shoe also features Stan Lee’s signature in the air pocket on the sole! When Make-A-Wish granted Jacob’s dream to meet the legendary comic creator in May, 2015, Jacob took the opportunity to ask ‘The Man’ if he would lend his signature to his custom shoe. Jacob is likely the biggest Spiderman fan you will ever meet and getting his ultimate hero, Stan ‘The Man’ Lee to sign off on the shoe was absolutely excelsior!

Jacob developed a very stylish hat and hoodie, which go great with his Air max 95 Premiums! His shoes and apparel were auctioned for $17,000 at the annual Nike Doernbecher Freestyle Auction and his designs sold out nationwide with 100% of the proceeds going directly to OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. To date, this partnership has raised more than $13.8 million for OHSU and Jacob is very grateful for this incredible experience!